40 Days And Counting
by UniqueMuffins
Summary: Post series. Sion gets a message from Nezumi, saying he'll return in 40 days. Inspired by the song And Counting... by LIGHTS.


**A/N: This fic was inspired by and contains the lyrics of And Counting... by LIGHTS. Disclaimer: I do not own No. 6 or LIGHTS, I just think they are amazing. 8D Anyway, I hope you enjoy this No.6 fic! :D**

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><p><em>40 days and counting.<em>

_I'm going to sleep, when I wake up there will be thirty-nine more days left._

_When I fall asleep, I feel you with me._

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><p>The countdown had begun.<p>

"This is kind of unlike Nezumi..." Sion mumbled to himself. Sitting on his bed alone, with the morning sun breaking through his curtains, he read the note that had been left on his nightstand for the thousandth time. It read:

_Sion. In 40 days, I'll return to No. 6. Are you still waiting for me?_

"Nezumi wouldn't tell me when he was coming back. Is this really from him?" Sion wondered aloud. "It is his handwriting..." It was bizarre. Nezumi, who had wished for the destruction of No. 6 with all his heart, was returning to the city he once loathed. Six years had passed since No. 6 had fallen. Sion had been, and still was, one of the main people in charge of rebuilding it. They had successfully accomplished joining the West Block's residents and the old denizens of No. 6, and construction was always going on, trying to build new houses and places of work. It had taken a lot of effort, and there were still many things in the new No. 6 that were not perfect, but Sion was happy with the outcome so far. Both groups of people were better off now than they were in their former lives, or so Sion believed.

Many typhoons and natural phenomenon had come over the city, more than before, but none were quite as memorable or strong as the one on the night ten years ago when Sion met Nezumi. The first night he'd seen those gray eyes. Even though he hadn't seen Nezumi in six years, he felt that the moment they were reunited, it would be like no time had passed at all.

_Unless he's changed?_ Sion wondered. He hadn't seen Nezumi in six years. Maybe he'd changed. After all, now he was free to roam as he pleased, and he didn't have to worry about day to day survival as much anymore now that the West Block was gone. _Maybe he's changed, and that's why this note is un-Nezumi-like._

However, no matter what had happened, Nezumi was Nezumi. Sion would be glad to see him, no matter the time gap.

The first was four years. Twelve to sixteen years old.

The next was six years. Sixteen to twenty-two.

Now there was only forty days separating them.

A warm feeling rose up in Sion's chest.

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><p><em>30 days and counting.<em>

_I'm going to sleep, when I wake up there will be twenty-nine more days left._

'_Til I fall asleep, and you are with me._

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><p>The brown rat Nezumi had sent to Sion ten days ago to deliver his letter had finally returned. It squeaked as it approached Nezumi, as if asking for a reward. Nezumi gave it a piece of bread, and it scurried away to eat it alone.<p>

_So, ten days to get to No. 6 from here and back, huh?_ Nezumi thought._ I've still got plenty of time for travel, then...but..._

But he hadn't seen Sion in six years. He didn't know if he could wait thirty more days.

_Sion will think I've gone soft if I come early. He'll think I missed him._

_But you do, _another voice in the back of his mind teased him.

Six years without Sion. It was the longest time he'd been without the other boy, besides the time before they met. Still, he wanted to see him. It had been too long.

_Awhile back, I would've thought myself a fool for thinking thoughts like 'I miss him' and 'I need him,' _the rat thought. "Guess I really am a fool, getting attached to someone..." he mumbled to himself. "And going back to No. 6, no less."

The city Nezumi had vied for the destruction of—Sion had managed to turn it into a place where everyone can live, the elites and the people that were considered to be filth from West Block. It was merely one of the things Nezumi found amazing about Sion—he could work miracles.

_Just admit you love the kid,_ the voice teased. _And that you always will, no matter the amount of time that passes._

"Regardless, I told him to wait 40 days," he mumbled, arguing with himself. "If he can wait that long, so can I. I guess it wouldn't hurt to hang around this place a little longer, would it?" He moved over to his window. Outside it, the sun was setting.

_Somewhere out there,_ he thought, _Sion is beyond that horizon._

Once it set, he had only 29 more days to wait.

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><p><em>20 days and counting.<em>

_I'm going to sleep, when I wake up there will be nineteen more days left._

_When I fall asleep, I feel you with me._

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><p>"Nezumi's coming back?" Karan asked her son as she took a cherry pie out of the oven. She smiled at him. "That's wonderful!"<p>

She really meant it. She still had not met this Nezumi her son always talked about, despite the years that had passed. She had only communicated to him through small pieces of paper six years ago, although it seemed more recent. Since Nezumi had returned her son back to her, she had never been able to thank him properly. It was because of Nezumi that her son was alive, and it was because of Nezumi that she could run her bakeshop in the newly established No. 6.

Sion still talked about Nezumi the way he did when he was younger. His face would have a certain glow to it, one she couldn't quite describe. He never said anything bad about the other boy. Sometimes he would still look out the window, longing in his eyes, knowing the wanderer was still out there. Karan had wanted to ask Sion why he never searched for this Nezumi, but she decided it was not her place to intervene.

"I can't guarantee you'll like him, at first," Sion said. "He may act cold-hearted, if he's still the same Nezumi. But he's actually very nice, once you get to know him."

Karan frowned slightly. The way Sion said "if he's still the same Nezumi" carried a sad tone. It had been six years—it was very likely something happened to him during his wanderings, causing a change. Karan found it often happened when you grew up into an adult.

"Then again," Sion said, "he was still the same sarcastic Nezumi when I met him for the second time way back then. Nezumi's strong, he's not likely to change so drastically." Sion gave her a soft reassuring smile.

Karan could tell just from these little conversations they had about the other boy that her son loved Nezumi. Whether that love be romantic, amicable, or simply admiration—there was a fondness in the way Sion said his name that he never used for any other name. Even though Sion would smile a lot, there was never a smile so pure as when he mentioned or thought of Nezumi. Even now, when so many years had passed.

_That's why if he hurts him,_ Karan thought, _I could never forgive him, even if Sion could._

"I should make some sort of welcome back present then, right?" Karan asked. "Do you know what Nezumi likes?"

"You should make one of your cherry cakes," Sion replied. "Those are always delicious."

"Sure thing," Karan said. She set off to gather ingredients to stock more of her inventory as Sion got ready for work.

_He said twenty more days, didn't he?_ Karan thought. _Twenty more days until I meet the man who changed our lives so greatly._

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><p><em>1 day and counting.<em>

_I'll stay right here, up all night dear._

_I'll stay right here, 'til you're right here._

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><p>By chance, a typhoon hit No. 6 that night. It was nearly as powerful as the one on the night ten years ago.<p>

_Is this just a coincidence?_ Sion thought. Alone in his room, he couldn't help smiling. He got up from his bed and moved over to his window, throwing it open. Wind and rain poured in. His hair blew in all directions, sometimes blocking his vision, tangling around as the wind played with it. It was just like that night. The urge to scream, to let out all of his emotions was welling up inside him again. It felt nostalgic. _I'll let you in, Nezumi. If you need a place to stay, just like you did then, I'll leave it open for you._

The wind continued to howl and the rain continued to hammer but not a thing stirred outside. Sion's face stung with numbness from the needle-like rain and piercing wind. He waited and waited, but no rat ever came up.

_Today's the day, right?_ Sion thought. _The day he's supposed to come. Nezumi's not the type of person to go back on a promise. Where could he be…?_

Sion's eyelids started feeling droopy. _I can't sleep, not yet...Nezumi still needs to come..._He'd moved away from the window now, sitting on a chair nearby. _We have a lot to catch up on...I wonder where's he's been these past years?...he's probably seen a lot...done a lot...performed a lot...I wonder, what kinds of places did he go to..._

Sion fell asleep, dreaming of all kinds of places with his beloved wandering star in each one.

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><p><em>I'll stay right here, up all night, dear. <em>

_I'll stay right here, 'til you're right here._

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><p>"Sion?" a voice said his name.<p>

Sion blinked a few times, his vision blurry. _Guess I fell asleep...I wonder if it's Mom?_ His vision adjusted. A pair of eyes he recognized were staring gently into his. The eyes he could never forget, the ones he loved so dearly—they were the same gray eyes that he'd seen that night. Nezumi hadn't changed after all.

"Nezumi!"

"I'm back, Sion."

Despite himself, Sion felt tears well up in his eyes.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you liked it! Even if you didn't, I appreciate all kinds of reviews! ^_^**


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